Another Intergovernmental Conference following up the Treaty of Nice "must not be a precondition for enlargement", says Commissioner Vergheugen

Brussels, 28/09/2000 (Agence Europe) - Speaking last week before the "Asser Institute Colloquium" of the Hague on "the Constitutional Impact of Enlargement at EU and National Level", Commissioner Gunter Verheugen considered that any further Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) that may follow the one that should be closed in Nice in December, had not to constitute a precondition for EU enlargement.

The current IGC is sufficient for EU enlargement to the current applicants: "should another Intergovernmental Conference be launched, it should not be a precondition for enlargement", Verheugen declared. According to the Commissioner, there is a "great difference" between the ongoing IGC and the one that could follow: the Amsterdam leftovers and the rest of the Nice agenda concern aspects "intrinsically linked" to the EU's functioning following enlargement, whereas the "post-Nice agenda" is different: the broader institutional debate is legitimate in itself, and applicant countries should have the opportunity to participate and express their opinions".

Mr. Verheugen also took stances on different issues currently being debated in the framework of the IGC on institutional reform, notably:

• he spoke in favour of a smaller European Commission after enlargement, in which not all Member States would have "their" Commissioner;
• he pleaded in favour of a correction (in favour of the larger States) of the current imbalance within the Council and for the establishment of a link between the number of votes and the population of a Member State;
• he said he was in favour of a "generous" extension of qualified majority voting, not because he thought that the new member countries would be less "integration-friendly", but because statistically speaking, the increase in the numbers would invariably make consensus much harder to achieve;
• he spoke in favour of flexibility of conditions for enhanced cooperation, on condition, however, that this: - remains within the institutional framework of the Treaties; - does not go against existing Community policies; - remains open to all Member States wanting to participate.